Read Online King's Crusade (Seventeen) by AD Starrling - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: AD Starrling
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Jackson audibly sucked in a breath.
‘Five seconds,’ Alexa said in a conversational tone. ‘Three, two, one. Goodbye, Mr. El Bash—’
‘All right, all right!’ the fat man shouted shrilly as she started to squeeze the trigger. She stopped. ‘The order was placed over the phone, with strict instructions not to record any of the details. The man who collected the crane called himself Dragov. Boyko Dragov. That’s the only thing I know, I swear!’
‘He didn’t give you a contact number or address?’
‘No! He always called me,’ said El Bashir shakily.
‘What does he look like?’ asked Alexa.
El Bashir’s eyes grew large with panic. ‘I really don’t want to—’
She fired another shot into the desk. Jackson took a step toward her.
‘He was—he was tall!’ The words rushed out of El Bashir’s mouth in a breathless stutter. ‘And big! Like that—that green monster from that American TV series!’
Jackson’s eyebrows rose. ‘You mean, “The Hulk”?’
‘Yes, that’s the one!’ said El Bashir, nodding wildly.
Alexa frowned. The man was holding something back. ‘What are you not telling us?’
El Bashir gulped and looked pleadingly at Jackson.
‘It’d be better if you talked,’ said Jackson, glancing at her.
El Bashir hesitated. ‘This Dragov—he—he wanted me to tell him if I knew of any fishing vessels that would travel to Port Said.’
‘You mean up through the Suez Canal?’ said Jackson sharply.
El Bashir nodded.
‘What did you tell him?’ said Alexa. El Bashir’s panicked gaze shifted to the desk. She lowered the gun. Wincing at his swollen thumb, the fat man grabbed a piece of paper and hastily wrote down three lines. He handed her the sheet.
She studied the names on the list. ‘Do you know whether he hired any of these ships?’
El Bashir shook his head vigorously. ‘No. Look, all I did was bring the crane across! I’m not involved in anything else that might be going on here!’
Alexa gazed at him for several seconds. ‘We’re leaving,’ she said finally.
El Bashir’s shoulders sagged, relief evident in his eyes.
‘But,’ she continued, ‘if you tell anyone about this, I’ll kill you. You’ll be under surveillance from now on.’ She turned and walked out of the room, leaving the fat man sweating profusely by the desk.
‘You were kidding about killing him, weren’t you?’ asked Jackson as he followed her out of the building. ‘And that surveillance thing was just to scare him, right? Hey, I asked you a couple questions!’
Alexa halted in the parking lot and looked at him over her shoulder. ‘If he were to pose a threat to our mission, I would not hesitate to dispose of him.’
‘I don’t believe that!’ exclaimed Jackson.
‘You don’t know me,’ she retorted, striding to the Jeep and climbing in the vehicle.
‘No, I don’t, do I?’ He got in and slammed the door forcefully behind him.
Alexa took the satellite phone out of the hardback case and called up the Crovir techs. ‘I need intel on three fishing boats,’ she said and quickly ran through the names on the piece of paper El Bashir had handed her. ‘I want to know if any of them docked in Port Said in the last six weeks.’ She stared blindly at the road ahead while she waited, aware of Jackson brooding at her side. ‘The Juzur Tawilah?’ she said finally, frowning at the windscreen. ‘Any chance of finding out where it unloaded?’
The Crovir immortal on the other end of the line went silent for a moment. ‘That information is not held in the Port Authority database,’ he replied. ‘They’re probably still using paper records. The only way to find out is to go there.’
It was Alexa’s turn to be quiet. ‘Can you find me a boat? A fast one?’ she said eventually. ‘No, further up the coast would be better. I want to be in Port Said by lunchtime tomorrow. Also, see what you’ve got on a Boyko Dragov. He’s probably of Bulgarian origin. I’ll wait for your
‘Five seconds,’ Alexa said in a conversational tone. ‘Three, two, one. Goodbye, Mr. El Bash—’
‘All right, all right!’ the fat man shouted shrilly as she started to squeeze the trigger. She stopped. ‘The order was placed over the phone, with strict instructions not to record any of the details. The man who collected the crane called himself Dragov. Boyko Dragov. That’s the only thing I know, I swear!’
‘He didn’t give you a contact number or address?’
‘No! He always called me,’ said El Bashir shakily.
‘What does he look like?’ asked Alexa.
El Bashir’s eyes grew large with panic. ‘I really don’t want to—’
She fired another shot into the desk. Jackson took a step toward her.
‘He was—he was tall!’ The words rushed out of El Bashir’s mouth in a breathless stutter. ‘And big! Like that—that green monster from that American TV series!’
Jackson’s eyebrows rose. ‘You mean, “The Hulk”?’
‘Yes, that’s the one!’ said El Bashir, nodding wildly.
Alexa frowned. The man was holding something back. ‘What are you not telling us?’
El Bashir gulped and looked pleadingly at Jackson.
‘It’d be better if you talked,’ said Jackson, glancing at her.
El Bashir hesitated. ‘This Dragov—he—he wanted me to tell him if I knew of any fishing vessels that would travel to Port Said.’
‘You mean up through the Suez Canal?’ said Jackson sharply.
El Bashir nodded.
‘What did you tell him?’ said Alexa. El Bashir’s panicked gaze shifted to the desk. She lowered the gun. Wincing at his swollen thumb, the fat man grabbed a piece of paper and hastily wrote down three lines. He handed her the sheet.
She studied the names on the list. ‘Do you know whether he hired any of these ships?’
El Bashir shook his head vigorously. ‘No. Look, all I did was bring the crane across! I’m not involved in anything else that might be going on here!’
Alexa gazed at him for several seconds. ‘We’re leaving,’ she said finally.
El Bashir’s shoulders sagged, relief evident in his eyes.
‘But,’ she continued, ‘if you tell anyone about this, I’ll kill you. You’ll be under surveillance from now on.’ She turned and walked out of the room, leaving the fat man sweating profusely by the desk.
‘You were kidding about killing him, weren’t you?’ asked Jackson as he followed her out of the building. ‘And that surveillance thing was just to scare him, right? Hey, I asked you a couple questions!’
Alexa halted in the parking lot and looked at him over her shoulder. ‘If he were to pose a threat to our mission, I would not hesitate to dispose of him.’
‘I don’t believe that!’ exclaimed Jackson.
‘You don’t know me,’ she retorted, striding to the Jeep and climbing in the vehicle.
‘No, I don’t, do I?’ He got in and slammed the door forcefully behind him.
Alexa took the satellite phone out of the hardback case and called up the Crovir techs. ‘I need intel on three fishing boats,’ she said and quickly ran through the names on the piece of paper El Bashir had handed her. ‘I want to know if any of them docked in Port Said in the last six weeks.’ She stared blindly at the road ahead while she waited, aware of Jackson brooding at her side. ‘The Juzur Tawilah?’ she said finally, frowning at the windscreen. ‘Any chance of finding out where it unloaded?’
The Crovir immortal on the other end of the line went silent for a moment. ‘That information is not held in the Port Authority database,’ he replied. ‘They’re probably still using paper records. The only way to find out is to go there.’
It was Alexa’s turn to be quiet. ‘Can you find me a boat? A fast one?’ she said eventually. ‘No, further up the coast would be better. I want to be in Port Said by lunchtime tomorrow. Also, see what you’ve got on a Boyko Dragov. He’s probably of Bulgarian origin. I’ll wait for your
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